Editorial: We could use more like them

Bruce Perkinson isn’t looking for any spotlights, and we can appreciate the humility.

But he’s the glue in a celebration at Wise we believe captures the true Fourth of July spirit. Other celebrations may have more glitz, bigger names, more vendors, larger audiences, or name any other commodity, but this community gets it right.

Perkinson is the chief at Hawtree Volunteer Fire Department. The department and the Wise Baptist Church make it happen behind the scenes; hundreds coming to the crossroads community make it happen on the scene.

Children see things they won’t otherwise see, like souped-up lawnmowers, and fun and frivolity are the rule of the day. That and Perkinson’s passion to honor our veterans.

Our hope is this celebration always endures.

• Speaking of veterans, congratulations as well to Frank Strickland. He’s the Oxford commissioner and U.S. Army veteran leading a veterans memorial committee in Granville County.

They aim to establish, at a location to be determined, a fitting tribute to Granville County’s veterans. Strickland said he hopes it is one the community can be proud of, and we’re confident they will achieve that goal.

Our veterans have done so much for us. It is wonderful to see something being done for them, something that will last.

• Thursday’s dramatic events in Simi Valley are a reminder of the dangers that come with fireworks. We hope caution is always taken, especially tonight in Vance County when two fireworks displays will be ongoing.

The incident in California was unusual. But then, unpredictability is the nature of many explosions, even in smaller forms with “controlled” environments. One firework detonated prematurely in its mortar, thus knocking over a row of others like dominoes.

The result were fireworks going off across the ground and into a crowd of 10,000, with 28 people injured and others fleeing for safety.

It wasn’t the only reported mishap Thursday. A barge with fireworks caught fire in Montana, and a shell exploded prematurely in North Myrtle Beach. Illegal fireworks caused a fire at a boat storage facility in Seattle.

Whether at Kerr Lake or Cokesbury tonight, or firing those bought for amateur use at home, we beg and plead, “Be careful.”